Florida Governor Seeks Guardian For Unborn Child of Rape Victim
Pro-abortion activists in Florida are furious over Governor Jeb Bush's effort to assign a guardian to represent the interests of a baby, not yet born, whose mother is severely disabled victim of rape who suffers from mental retardation, seizures, autism and cerebral palsy. Feminist pro-abortion groups like the National Organization for Women (NOW) are outraged that the Governor considers the 5-month-old unborn baby a person. As we know all-too-well, as far as they are concerned, whether or not the baby is a person, he or she has no rights  no right to a guardian and no right to live. They fear that Bush is challenging Florida's abortion rights policy, grounded in a 1989 Florida Supreme Court ruling in the case of a 15-year-old who sought to obtain an abortion without the consent of her parents. At that time, the court said that assigning a guardian to a "fetus" was "clearly improper" because it recognizes a "fetus" as a person.

The current issue does not involve abortion however. It is simply a matter of an expectant mother who is not capable of protecting the interests of her child, and the Governor's attempt to seek a remedy to that problem.

A competency hearing is set for the mother on June 2, 2003. Soon after, a guardianship hearing will be held. Governor Bush said he would push state officials to ask a judge to appoint a guardian for the unborn child. Pro-abortion groups have pledged to fight it and, either way, the decision will be appealed. (Orlando Sentinel, 5/17/03)

Latest Gallup Poll Shows Abortion Considered "Morally Wrong" by Most Americans
The Gallup organization's annual survey, conducted May 5-7, 2003, on America's values and beliefs shows, on the issue of abortion, people make a distinction between moral and legal imperatives. Overall, 80% of Americans believe abortion should be legal in at least "some circumstances," but just 37% say abortion is morally acceptable.

About a quarter of all Americans (23%) say abortion should be legal "under any circumstances" but of this group, 15% say abortion is morally wrong.

Another 15% of Americans believe abortion should be legal under "most circumstances, and again, 15% of this group say abortion is morally wrong.

Of the 19% who say abortion should be illegal in all circumstances, 94% say it is morally wrong.

The public remains conflicted over what is right, what is wrong, and what should be legal. Obviously, there is a chasm, not just a gap, between what people believe and how they actually behave. While there appears to be a slight increase in those who consider abortion to be morally wrong, we still see, year after year, public opinion polls reflecting the steady moral degradation of our culture.

Vote on Abortion in Military Hospitals Today!
Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) is pushing her perennial amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1588) which would eliminate the prohibition on the performance of elective abortions in taxpayer-funded U.S. Military hospitals. While her amendment was defeated in the House Armed Services Committee last Tuesday, Sanchez is expected to offer her amendment on the floor tomorrow, Thursday, May 22. It was narrowly defeated in the last Congress by a vote of 215-202 and we would like to see a stronger vote against it this time.

During the Clinton administration, abortions were allowed in military hospitals. Fortunately, military physicians and other health care workers refused to perform them or assist in their performance. The Clinton administration then sought to hire civilians to commit abortions. In 1996, Congress passed a law prohibiting abortions in military hospitals, and since then, efforts to repeal it have been unsuccessful. Please contact your U.S. Representative and ask for a NO vote on the Sanchez Amendment. Capitol Switchboard  202/224-3121.

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